APA 7th Edition Tutorial: Plagiarism

This guide gives a quick run-down of the basic rules of using APA formatting. Learn how to: write an abstract; format headings; format in-text citations; and construct your References page.

What is Plagiarism?

According to the Purdue Online Writing Lab of Purdue University:

Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas or words without giving them proper credit. Plagiarism can range from unintentional (forgetting to include a source in a bibliography) to intentional (buying a paper online, using another writer’s ideas as your own to make your work sound smarter). Beginning writers and expert writers alike can all plagiarize. Understand that plagiarism is a serious charge in academia, but also in professional settings.

Avoid Plagiarism

Avoid plagiarism! Cite your sources!

Using in-text citations:

shows the reader that you have done your research
shows that you know how to credit the sources of your information.
points your reader to the full citation on your References page for more information.

Defining and Understanding Plagiarism:

important in the research and writing process.

From the Plagiarism.org Website:

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means

to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
to use (another's production) without crediting the source
to commit literary theft
to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward.

ALL these are considered plagiarism:

turning in someone else's work as your own
copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on "fair use" rules)